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Culture - Kashmiri Saints and Sages |
| Bhagwan Gopinathji |
Bhagwan Gopinathji was acclaimed in his lifetime as " Bhagwan ", which is a clear indicator of the spiritual heights he had attained
He was born on 3rd July 1898 in Bana Mohalla, Srinagar to Pt. Narayan Joo Bhan and Smt. Harmali. He attained Mahasamadhi at 5-45p.m. on 28th May 1968 at Chandpora, Srinagar.
Bhagwanji had passed the middle examination and was proficient in Sanskrit, Urdu and Persian. He had studied Bhavani Sahasranam, Indrakshi, Panchstavi, Vishnu Sahasranam, Mahimna Stotra, Shiva Stotravali and the Vaaks of the sages at a young age. Initially, he practiced the pashmina trade of his mother's uncle, then was appointed as a compositor in a printing press and later opened a kiryana shop of his own.
It is surmised that Swami Zankak was his guru and Swami Aftab Joo Wangnoo his gurubhai. Bhagwanji used to sit on his asana twenty-four hours a day and was always absorbed in samadhi. He kept a dhooni burning in the room and would pour oblations into it from time to time. He used to fill up his chillum and then smoke for hours, looking up at the sky all the while. He bathed rarely, as he had lost body consciousness, but a very sweet scent emanated from his body. He would generally wear a pheran and a turban.
He ate very little, taking kehva and sheer chai, but food only once a day, that too in a most unconcerned manner. He often observed complete fasts for months on end.
He was a lifelong bachelor. He believed that spiritual progress was impossible for those who had not conquered lust. He would warn his devotees against immoral behaviour, saying that a beautiful body was just food for the God of Death. Sometimes, he attacked depraved visitors with an iron spoon or chimta, but not with a view to physically hurt them.
Bhagwanji was a philanthropist. He would convert all the money given by devotees into currency notes of Re. 1 denomination and then give away one rupee to every sadhu from outside the valley. He would accept whatever his devotees offered, but distribute it at once among all those who were present.
He was available for darshan to all, irrespective of their caste or creed. He talked very little. Sometimes, he would answer individual questions by making a general indirect observation addressed to every one. He gave the sacred ash from his dhooni to those suffering from serious ailments. There are recorded cases of his curing people suffering from leukemia, cancer, tuberculosis, meningitis, internal hemorrhage, diabetes and other fatal diseases
It is difficult to chalk out the path of sadhana followed by a saint. There is evidence to suggest that he used to circumambulate Hari Parbat at a very young age and had the good fortune of seeing his family deity, the Goddess Sharika. His most arduous sadhana was between 1930 and 1937,when he was totally absorbed in meditation, while lying on a cot with his face to the wall. A small lamp was kept lighted in the room all the time. His body became swollen and he vomited blood. But he emerged from this sadhana as an omniscient yogi, who had seen Shiva face to face.
Now people started thronging wherever he stayed ,for his darshan or help in resolving their problems pertaining to health, business or employment. He would be in samadhi all the time and would sometimes make cryptic comments before going back to his state of bliss. He began the practice of blowing for hours at the live charcoals in his kangri. He also started initiating his devotees by a look or by sharing his chillum and only rarely by word of mouth. Knowledgeable sadhus started saying that he was a rare siddha, an avadhuta, a sthitaprajna and a karmayogi.
Apart from a large number of miracles affecting individuals, Bhagwan intervened dramatically in national and international affairs as at the time of the Pak aggression in Kashmir in 1947, during the Sino-Indian conflict in 1962 and at the time of the Indo-Pak war of 1965. More recently, he was seen in his physical form guiding the Indian soldiers to victory in the Kargil conflict of 2001.
Bhagwan was without a sense of ego. He always used the word 'we' instead of 'I'. He taught that expansion of the ego to cosmic dimensions led to Onkar, and thus to self-realization. He had a fascination for light. He kept his dhooni always burning. He believed that there ought to be light, whenever the deities were invoked. When he looked at the sky, he would see the devatas in the form of bundles of conscious light.
Although he advised people initially to worship an idol, his preferred sadhana was that of the formless divine. He said that any shloka of the Bhagwad Gita could be adopted as the guru. In fact, God Himself, who was immanent in us as Spirit, was the real guru.
He believed that one's sadhana and the guru's grace both mattered. He never advised anyone to give up the family. It was possible to renounce while being a householder. Of course, he was strict about the need for celibacy, if one wanted to make progress on the spiritual path.
Towards the end, he gave hints of his impending mahasamadhi, but also told a devotee that the immortal never dies. There were more than 20,000 mourners at his funeral. |
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| Abhinava gupta |
Abhinava gupta is considered to be one of the most outstanding Acharyas of Shaiva philosophy. Rajanaka Mammata calls him the Shankaracharya of Kashmir.Madhuraja asserts that he was an incarnation of Bhairavanatha Shiva. He was certainly one of the most remarkable personalities of medieval India.
His remote ancestor Attrigupta lived in Autarvedi and migrated to Kashmir at the instance of King Lalitaditya. Abhinavagupta was born to Narasimhagupta, also known as Chukhala, and Vimala or Vimalkala.He was a born yogin, and a great devotee of Lord Shiva. He led a celibate life. He was born around 950 A.D.and worked indefatigably for more than forty years before he, along with his 1200 disciples, entered the Bhairava cave in village Bhirura and was never seen again. He possessed the eight yogic powers and the six great signs of spiritual advancement.
Kashmir Shaivism was developed by great thinkers such as Somananda, Kallata, Utpala, Abhinavagupta and Kshemraja. Somananda was the founder of the Pratyabhijnya system, Utpaldeva the organizer and Abhinavagupta the expounder and commentator of Kashmir Shaivism.
Kashmir Shaivism is also called Trika philosophy, that is, the three-fold science of man and his world, encompassing the individual, the energy and the universal consciousness. Trika shows how the individual achieves universal consciousness through energy. Abhinavagupta classified Trika into four systems------Krama, Spanda, Kula and Pratyabhijnya.
Krama deals with space and time. It is when one is dealing with forms that there is space and when something is to be done there is time. Otherwise, there is no space and no time.
Spanda shows how movement starts from an unmoving point. Kula is the science of totality. In each and every part of the universe, the totality shines.
Pratyabhijnya means that, at the time of self-realisation, nothing new is experienced. The Yogi sees that he already knew the state of God-consciousness.
Abhinavagupta wrote his two famous commentaries: Ishwara Pratyabhijnya Vimarsini and Ishwara Pratyabhijnya Vivrati Vimarsini. His concept of freedom (swatantrya) is one of the principal achievements of Kashmir Shaivism. Pratyabhijnya thus unfolds the glorious possibilities and potentialities of man. It upholds the sovereignty of the individual. Man is not merely a speck of dust, but has an immense force, capable of manifesting limitless powers of knowledge and action.
Pratyabhijnya system is, therefore, the most modern, as it recognizes the democratic idea of sovereignty of the individual and lays emphasis on equality and universal brotherhood of mankind. It is thus a new way to human peace and freedom.
Abhinavagupta is one of the all-time great sons of Mother Kashmir.
(Courtesy: R.K. Jalali, Koshur Samachar, Feb 1999 and Swami Lakshman Joo, Koshur Samachar, Mar-Apr 1992) |
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| Utpaldeva |
Utpaldeva was one of the greatest mystic saints of Kashmir and one of the founding fathers of Pratyabhijnya philosophy. Very little is known about him. He was a Brahmin and the son of Udayakar. He had married and probably lived somewhere in Nauhatta in Srinagar.
Utpal must have been a precocious boy with a sharp intellect and a quest for learning. That is why he was accepted as a disciple by the great philosopher Siddha Somananda, whose seminal work Shivadrishti inspired him to write the Ishwar Pratyabhijnya Karikas. He wrote the karikas at the request of his son Vibhramakara.
Although Ishwara Pratyabhijnya is a heavy read, it is a perfect work of philosophy. It not only contains a set of philosophical doctrines, but instructions for practical yoga too. Somananda had explained that there was no impurity in Shiva and so there could not be any erosion. Shiva had assumed no jiva bhava. Thus it was only a change of view or recognition that was required.
In his later years, Utpala would often be in ecstasy and sing rapturous notes. His poems gave devotional expression to the philosophical doctrines of Kashmir Shaivism.His poems were noted down by his disciples, as he had no body consciousness. He believed in self-surrender and love. His disciples Sri Rama and Adityaraja compiled Utpala’s poetic works. Later, Viswavarta divided these into twenty stotras. The work came to be known as Shiva Stotravali.and a Sanskrit commentary on it was written by Kshemraja. Swami Lakshman Joo has written a Hindi commentary on it. Kashmir’s Persian scholars have termed it as Junoon-e-Kamil (divine ecstasy of the sage).
Courtesy: Janaki Nath Kaul in Koshur Samachar Feb 1999 ) |
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| Kashkak |
In the earlier part of the twentieth century, Kash Kak was born in the village of Manigam, 25 kilometres from Srinagar. He was married and had children, led the normal life of a householder and earned his bread by tilling whatever little land he possessed.
Initiated into yogic sadhana by his guru Narain Bhan, Kashkak attained siddhi sooner than expected. He became a faqir, a mastana. Meher Baba of Poona visited him and accepted prasad from him. He says in his book ‘ The Wayfarers’ that he found Kashkak ever engrossed in the seventh plane of consciousness.
Kahkak had miraculous powers, of which there are numerous stories. He would cure people of fatal diseases. He never disappointed any visitor.
One day, the parents of an unfortunate youth brought him to Manigam. They had travelled by tonga from Srinagar.The young man had stopped urinating and had now a distended bladder. The doctors had given him up in despair. The parents tearfully entreated Kashkak to intervene, but Bab refused, saying that the ailment was a result of past karma. The parents would not take no for an answer and went on pleading. Finally, Kashkak relented and said that they could go back; someone else would bear the youth’s karma. Hardly had the tonga gone a few kilometres, when the young man stopped it, descended to the roadside and passed water to the extent of several litres. Immediately thereafter, the horse fell down dead.
One day, Kashkak felt pity on an old Gujar farmer who had fractured his arm. The Gujar had pleaded that his entire family would starve if he were prevented from working at the height of the harvesting season. Kashkak touched his arm and it was instantly healed. Another farmer seated there protested against the cure, saying that the Gujar did not deserve Bab’s kindness, as he was known for his cunning. Kashkak said that he would have to go through the entire trauma after the harvesting season was over. This actually happened.
Kashkak’s predictions were often shrouded in ambiguity. To a query as to when a particular gentleman would get married, he replied, ‘Yora gachhith ta tora yith’, meaning after he died and was reborn. The said gentleman remained a bachelor all his life.
Kashkak was a poor farmer. He always refused offerings, whether in kind or cash. He threw whatever was offered into the Sindh river, which flowed nearby. But he displayed utmost hospitality. Those coming from afar were allowed to stay at night and served a simple meal of rice, curd, dal and vegetables. He treated the rich and poor alike and never discriminated between a Hindu and a Muslim. Kash Kak attained mahasamadhi on 17th August 1961.
(Courtesy: G.N.Raina Koshur Samachar, Feb 1999) |
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| Sati Ded |
Sati Ded or Sat Maal, as she was sometimes called, was a daughter of the Tickoo family. Her father married her off at a very young age to a pandit boy residing in a downtown area of Srinagar.She gave birth to a daughter, who was called Deka Ded in later years, but Sati had no desire to lead a worldly life.
She was obsessed with her desire to search out a spiritual guru. She would often spend some time with Akhtab Saad, or Aftab Joo, who would be available at Khak Chowk.Aftab Joo subjected her to beatings, to wean her away from a worldly life. Gradually, she became absorbed in her Self and was able to delve deep into her inner self to explore the spiritual treasure within. By and by, she developed the ashta siddhis. She could easily foresee the events that were still to occur.
There are many miracles associated with her name. One day, Sudershan Joo, a close devotee, was attacked by thieves who wanted to rob him. Sati Ded sensed the trouble from her room and shouted for the police. Within minutes, a policeman appeared and nabbed the miscreants.
Shri Dinanath Jalali came to her one day. She got up to receive him and said that henceforth he would be a maharaja. The same day, he was appointed as Private Secretary to Maharaja Hari Singh.
In 1934, she attained nirvana. Sati Nand ashram in Karfuli Mohalla commemorates her name.
Courtesy: J.N.Garyal,Koshur Samachar Jan 2001) |
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| Lalleshwari |
Lalleshwari is the most renowned of the mystic seers of Kashmir. She is the founder of the great Order of the Rishis, which contributed so much to mutual understanding between Hindus and Muslims at a critical stage of Kashmir’s history.
She was born during the reign of Sultan Ala-ud-Din Sher (1348-1360) and lived through the reigns of Shahab-ud-Din (1360-1378) and Kutub-ud-Din (1378-1394). She probably attained nirvana in the time of Sikander the Iconoclast (1394-1417). Although some people date her birth to 1335 A.D. when King Udyandeva was the ruler, the opinion is generally in favour of the date being somewhere in the middle of the 14th century.
Lalla was born in a Brahmin family, which lived near Pandrethan on the outskirts of Srinagar, where the Cantonment is now situated. She was a precocious child and must have attained some proficiency in Sanskrit at home. She was married at a very early age, when she was in her early teens, to a Brahmin boy in the nearby village of Pampore, which is famous for its saffron fields.
Her parents named Lalleshwari as Lalliteshwari. She was given the affectionate nickname of Lalli. Her in-laws gave her a new name Padmavati. In her later years, she was called Lal Ded by the Hindus and Lal Moj or Lal Arifa by the Muslims.
She does not seem to have had a happy married life. Her father-in-law was a pious but unobservant person, her husband a simpleton led by the nose by his mother and she had a step mother-in-law, whose chief preoccupation seems to have been to harass her daughter-in-law. She used to scold her all the time, on one pretext or the other. Although Lalla would spin thread as fine as the hair of the lotus-stalk, she would declare that it was too coarse. She would ask her to go again and again to the river to fetch water, so that not even the smallest pot in the house remained unfilled. She did not give her full meals, but resorted to the cruel subterfuge of keeping a stone in her plate, over which a thin layer of rice was spread. The impression sought to be conveyed was that full meals were being given and even her father-in-law seems to have been taken in by the deception.
The truth was found one day when the father-in-law had invited some people to a feast. He happened to go to the riverside, where the women were teasing Lalla that she would taste sumptuous dishes in the evening. Lalla’s reply was: “ Hond maritan kinah kath, noshi nalvat tsali na zanh”. Which meant that it hardly mattered whether her in-laws killed a full-grown sheep or a lamb, she would still have only the stone. In the evening, when food was served, the father-in-law took aside the layer of rice and discovered the stone inside. He gave his wife a tongue-lashing and apologized to Lalla for her behaviour. But the mother-in-law was unfazed by the rebuke and continued with her persecution.
Lalla often left home and went into the wilds, to seek the divine. Her mother-in-law poisoned her son’s ears, alleging that Lalla was going somewhere to meet a paramour. The stupid youth pursued his wife and was ashamed and amazed to find that Lalla was only seeking a bit of aloneness for communion with the divine. Despite the purity of her character, her mother-in-law persisted in her persecution.
One day Lalla was returning from the river with a pot full of water. Her husband threw a stone at the earthen pitcher. As a result, the pitcher broke, but the water did not spill out. Lalla filled all the empty pots and pitchers in the house and then threw away her pitcher into a nearby ditch. This developed into a small lake, which is known till this day as Lalla-trag
It is also clear that Lalla did not bear any children to her husband.
During her married life, she did take advantage of satsangs that were held in the neighbourhood and gained knowledge of the various religious doctrines and pratices. What sustained her was the advice given by the family priest Siddhamol, who asked her to bear her adversities patiently, as everything earthly was evanescent. He was an eminent Sanskrit scholar and expounder of the Saiva cult. He initiated her into the principles and practices of Kashmir Shaivism.When her mother-in-law’s persecution reached its zenith, one day Lalla’s patience was exhausted and she moved out of the house, in order to search for the divine in utmost seriousness.
She went forth as a wandering recluse, made visits to shrines and pilgrimages, sought salvation in the company of holy men, but in vain. She now became a disciple of Siddhamol or Siddha Srikanth and practiced Shaivism with full devotion and perseverance.
At one early discourse with him, her husband was also present, as he still hoped to woo her back. The three wanted to jointly explore which was the brightest light, which was the most sacred place, who was the most loyal friend and what was the greatest source of happiness. While the husband opted for the sun as giving the brightest light, Sidh Bayu voted for the eyes and Lalla’s answer was: “ the knowledge of God” .The husband said that the Ganges was the most sacred, the guru talked of the knees and Lalla was for “ ardent love.” The husband’s choice for the most loyal friend was the brother, Sidh Bayu’s the pocket and Lalla’s “ the Deity”. Her husband thought that a wife gave the utmost happiness, Sidh Bayu plumped for a blanket, but Lalla talked of the “ awe of God”.
As we can see, Lalleshwari’s answers were the most profound. Her husband gave up all hope of reclaiming her as his wife. The guru also must have felt soon that he had nothing much to teach her. The disciple had gone beyond the guru.
Lalla held long discourses with leading Muslim luminaries of her time like Sayyad Jalal-ud-Din Bukhari, Sayyad Hussain Simnani, Sayyad Mir Ali and the revered Shah Hamdan
There is an interesting story about her first meeting with Shah Hamdan. It is said that Lalla had gradually given up her clothes and used to roam around in a state of nudity. This could have been the influence of Jain Digamber sadhus, who also went around naked. The authority for this aspect of her life is derived from a verse in one of her Vaaks, where she says: “Tavay hyotum nangay natsun”. A scholar has reinterpreted this verse to read “ nungay” instead of “nangay”. Nungay is a flower, somewhat like Wordsworth’s daffodils. Thus he says that she did not dance naked, but like a daffodil.
Be it as it may, the story says that she was asked how, as a woman, she could bring herself to move about in a nude state. She said she did not cover herself, as she did not see any “man” around. But one day, when Shah Hamdan crossed her path, she exclaimed,” Now I have seen a man “and rushed to hide herself in the first place she could find. This was a baker’s oven. The baker’s wife, fearing trouble, put the lid on. Shah Hamdan came to the bakery to enquire after Lalla. Suddenly, Lalla appeared fully clothed in the green garments of paradise.
About her interaction with Islam, there are two schools of thought. Hindu commentators have generally felt that Lalleshwari preached only the purest form of Kashmir Shaivism, which she had learnt from her guru and practised herself. There might have an attempt to build a bridge between Shaivism and Sufism. She did fulminate against the worship of idols and the excessive obsession with rituals and animal sacrifices, with magic and necromancy, but this is seen as a normal mystic response to priestly abracadabra.
The other school of thought, mostly propagated by some Muslim scholars, says that Lalla was overwhelmed by her interaction with Shah Hamdan and got converted to Islam. That is why she was held in such high esteem by the Muslims as to be called Lal Moj (Lalla the Mother) and Lalla Arifa (Lalla, the Exalted One). There is no proof of this theory and all the internal evidence of the Vaaks clearly indicate the Shaivite nature of Lalla’s religious thought.
It is said that interaction with Nund Rishi, a Muslim mystic, and that they jointly founded the great Order of the Rishis. Some scholars, however, feel that they could not have met and the Rishi order was the natural culmination of an attempt at fusing the best elements of Hinduism and Islam.
The Rishi order had members from both the communities. Janak Rishi (Zain-ud-Din) of Aishamuqam, Rishimol of Anantnag, Batmol, Rishi Peer, and Thagababa Saheb of Srinagar belonged to the same order. Every district had its ashram (ziarat) of a Rishi and their graves and relics are objects of respect and veneration to this day.
No better tribute could be paid to the Rishis than the one recorded by Abul Fazal: “ The most respectable people of this country (Kashmir) are the Rishis, who are … true worshippers of God. They revile not any other sect… they plant the roads with fruit trees…they abstain from flesh and have no intercourse with the other sex. There are two thousand of these Rishis in Kashmir.”
Numerous stories of Lalla’s mystic powers are told everywhere in Kashmir. She once called upon her guru and enquired of his wife as to what he was doing. The wife said that he was engaged in meditation. Lalla replied: “ No! His pony has been kicked at Nanda Marg.”Sidh heard this remark with great astonishment, as he was at that time actually thinking of his pony, which was at Nanda Marg.
Once Sidh Srikanth was bathing at a ghat, when Lalla came with an earthen pot containing dirt and filth. She started cleaning this pot from the outside only. Sidh Bayu was surprised at this action and told her so. She replied, “ What are you yourself doing? Cleaning the physical body, while leaving the mind impure.”
A cloth merchant of her village, seeing the children hooting Lalla, became very angry and beat some of them. Lalla asked him for a piece of cloth, divided into two pieces of equal weight. She roamed about with the pieces of cloth in her hand. If someone greeted her with respect she tied a knot to one of the pieces and if somebody abused her, she tied a knot to the other piece. In the evening, the two pieces of cloth were still of equal weight. She said,” Whether I am greeted or mocked at, I am still Lalla. When Shiva Himself has showered grace on me, what is the significance of people saying something to me?”
Lalleshwari’s contribution to Kashmir Shaivism is immense. She taught that freedom from desire and knowledge of the nature of the Self led to ultimate release, whether a man lived the life of a householder or a hermit. One should effect the union of the Self with the Supreme by yoga practice.
She believed in absolute monism or advaita. She illustrated the concept of essential unity of all things by giving the example of water, which seems to be different from ice and snow. When the Sun of knowledge shines, the three become one. She believed that man forged his own destiny by self-effort. She denounced rituals, superstitious practices and narrow caste distinctions. She preached that equality, brotherhood of man, love and sincerity were the basic verities of religion.
Lalla was a spiritual and philosophical genius. Like Buddha before her, she moved from Sanskrit to the local language and was able to explain the most abstruse Shaivite concepts in simple folk idiom to the common masses.
Lalleshwari is said to have lived long and died at a ripe old age at Bijbehara.Both Hindus and Muslims claimed her as their own and wanted to dispose of her mortal remains according to their religious rites. When the body was uncovered, they found only some flowers instead. Lalla had merged into the Supreme.
More light on Lal Ded
By Rattan Lal Shant in ‘ Kashmir: Sahityik Sandarb’
It is not correct to say that Lal Ded met Shah Hamdan, considered him to be a male, entered an oven and came out with a lal or overlay of flesh to cover her modesty. Nor is it true that she was converted to Islam or was buried in a grave. All these are attempts by Muslim historians to prove that Lal Ded had been converted to Islam.
The facts are as under:
Lal was probably called Lalita by her parents and her pet name was Lal or Lallay
She never took to dancing naked. Her phrase ‘nangay’ is neither to be taken literally nor should it be changed to ‘nonguy’ (like a flower). Nakedness is that of the soul and is to be taken metaphorically.
The use of ‘Lal ‘in her Vaakh is to be taken as the author’s name, and not to be interpreted as the name which she got after she had attained self-realization.
Lal was a poetess first and a philosopher later. Her poems are rich in imagery and poetic fancy, and should not be taken as mere vehicles for Shaivite thought.
Lal was a rebel. She converted the convoluted Sanskrit of Shaivism into the rustic idiom of the common Kashmiri. She talked of the nudity of a female at a time when women must have been overburdened with clothes and regimented behaviour. She attacked the yogis for their miracles and the priests for their rituals and animal sacrifices.
She must have been fearless, for she speaks of the opposition she had to face during her own lifetime, which left her untouched. |
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| Roop Bhawani |
Roopa Bhawani was born to Pt. Madhav Joo Dhar’s wife in 1621. This was after Madhav Joo had a vision of Mother Sharika at Hari Parbat and asked her to be born as his daughter. Her first name was Alakshyeshwari.
She grew up in a spiritual atmosphere. As her tendencies became manifest, Madhav Joo himself became her guru and initiated her.
She was married to Hiranand Sapru, but her married life was unhappy. Her mother-in-law Somp Kunj had a cruel nature and kept on finding fault with her. She accused her of going out at midnight and made Hiranand suspicious of her fidelity.
One night, Hiranand followed her all the way to Hari Parbat. When she reached the shrine of Mother Sharika, she turned around and asked Hiranand to join her. However, he saw a vast expanse of water between them and went home.
One festival day, Madhav Joo sent a pot of kheer to her house. Somp Kunj asked sarcastically how she would serve kheer to her numerous relatives out of such a small pot. Alakshyeshwari told her to serve kheer to as many people as she liked, but not to look inside the pot. Somp Kunj ladled out the kheer to everyone she knew, but the supply seemed endless. Finally, she looked inside the pot and found only a few grains sticking to the sides.
Next day, Alakshyeshwari placed the pot in the flowing waters of the Vitasta and asked it to go to the Diddmar Ghat, where her father would be at his morning prayers. The pot stopped exactly where Madhav Joo was performing his sandhya.
Finally, Alakshyeshwari left her husband’s house, never to return. She also renounced her father’s house. She performed intense austerities for 12 ½ years each at Jyeshta Rudra, Mani Gaon, bank of Shahkol River and Vaskora. Everywhere her spiritual effulgence attracted large crowds, with the result that she had to change her locations. Many miracles took place around her.
In Mani Gaon, a cowherd discovered that a beautiful cow left the herd everyday at noon and disappeared somewhere. He followed her and was astonished to see her go to a radiant woman seated in meditation. The cow poured her milk into the ascetic’s bowl. He reported this to the village headman and the crowds started.
At Vaskora, she restored the eyesight of a young boy who had been blind from birth. She made Lal Joo’s son literate, without formally teaching him. She also gave spiritual instruction to Bal Joo Dhar and Sadanand Mattoo in the form of vaakhs, forty-five of which have come down to us.
Towards the end, she returned to Srinagar, where she lived in Safa Kadal. She gave up her body in 1721 A.D. When her devotees took her body for cremation, they met the village headman on the way. He was startled to hear that she had died, as he had just then passed her walking on the road. The devotees checked and found that the body had disappeared. There were only a few locks of hair and some flowers on the funeral bier. The flowers were duly cremated, while the locks of hair have been preserved and are worshipped to this day.
Although she is not with us now, Roopa Bhavani’s Vaakhs are so vibrant with her presence that we feel she is very near, transmitting knowledge to us with powerful words of renunciation and eternal truth.
Courtesy: Aparna Dhar in Koshur Samachar, Feb 1999) |
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| Swami Mirzakak |
Swami Mirzakak was a great saint and mystic poet of the 18th century. He was born to Pt. Lassa Pandit, who lived at Hangalgund, 78 kilometers from Srinagar. Lassa had two sons—Bula and Mirza. Mirza was born in 1744 A.D.
Mirza was an embodiment of simplicity. He remained celibate all his life. He would spend lot of time alone, in isolated places and in silence. But he also busied himself in routine household chores like tilling the land and rearing the cattle. He underwent yogic sadhana for a long while in an island near Hangalgund, and it is there that his samadhi now lies. Many renowned saints have paid obeisance at the samadhi.
Mirza spent a few years at his aunt (Maasi)’s house at Achan village in Pulwama tehsil. One day, when he was working in the paddy fields, a flash flood occurred and therefore his mother could not bring his lunch in time. Meanwhile Jagtamba appeared to him in the form of his mother and fed him a thali of kheer. The truth was realized only when his terrestrial mother reached him with the usual lunch.
Although Swamiji had no appreciation for miracles, some hair-raising incidents did take place around him. One day, a self-styled pandit came from Srinagar and offered some almonds. Swamiji ordered the almonds to be divided into two parts. One half of them were distributed among those present and each almond turned out to be a blank. When the almonds kept for Swamiji were broken open, each of them had two kernels. All the pretensions of the visitor melted away at this astonishing miracle.
One day, Swamiji was engaged in satsang with his disciples at Hangalgund and he was also seen at the same time at Srinagar, buying oven-fresh cakes for one of his disciples.
Whenever the epidemic of cholera spread in the area, Swamiji would indicate where the cholera was not to go, and then distribute a few grains of rice among the people. These were effective prophylactic measures against the outbreak of the dreaded disease.
An affluent devotee of Kanikadal had invited Swamiji to his house, but the guard prevented his entry on the ground that the people of the house were busy (grangal). Swamiji also repeated the words “grangal, grangal” and went away. Within minutes, the house was surrounded by the police, who arrested the owner. This created a real grangal. Some devotees devised a plan to have the curse removed. They went to Swamiji with a plate of almonds, sweets etc. When he asked what it was all about, they said that the grangal had gone away from Kanikadal. Kakji also joined them and shared the prasad. The Kanikadal devotee was soon released by the police and acquitted of the charges.
In a family at Bana Mohalla, the son of a devotee died on the day following his marriage day. The devotee refused to accept the situation and rushed to Swamiji who was engaged in a satsang in a doonga in the Dal Lake. At first, he tried to convince the bereaved father that death was final and inevitable, but when the devotee said that he had locked the room containing the body and the dew drop had yet to go away from the mortal world, Swamiji relented and said that if he had faith he should return to his house. Maybe, the boy had just fainted. The devotee came back to the house and sprinkled water on the body. The son was awakened to life!
Swamiji wrote numerous vaakhs, all of which have not yet been published. These have deep meaning and throw light on the entire dynamics of spirituality and mystic philosophy. The Vaakh Pothis are in the possession of his heirs and the vaakhs number several thousand. Some day, the entire Vaakhwani will be published.
(Courtesy: T.N.Hangloo in Koshur Samachar, April 2001) |
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| Nunda Ryosh |
Nunda Ryosh, along with Lal Ded, was one of the twin stars in the firmament of medieval Kashmir. His name was Sheikh Nur-ud-Din and he is the only Muslim saint also known by a Hindu name among his non-Muslim followers.
He was born in 1378 A.D. to Salar Sanz and Sadra Maji. He started life normally, got married and had two children. Gradually, he became disgusted with the world and lost interest in ordinary life. At the age of thirty, he took to caves and solitary places for penance and meditation, and lived for twelve years in the wilderness. He continually fasted all his life and gave up eating flesh, onions, milk and honey for many years. In his last years, he sustained life on a cup of milk and finally confined himself to water alone.
Nunda Ryosh lived in critical times and witnessed the worst forms of religious persecution in the time of Sultan Sikandar and Sultan Ali Shah. He was very unhappy about it. He was convinced that God was one, and that all religions were, in their ultimate essence, one. What was needed was a life of piety and purity. Hindus and Muslims could best live in a state of co-existence and not in confrontation.
He called upon people to subdue the five senses and overcome the evils of kama, krodha, lobha, moha and ahankara, so as to be united with Shiva. What was required was to enter one’s own body, with breath controlled, in communion with God. As he tried to defend Kashmir’s precious heritage, he was known as Alamdar or standard-bearer of Kashmir.
These views did not endear him to the outsiders and he was imprisoned during Ali Shah’s time. He was harassed in many ways, but kept on fighting undaunted.
He became an idol of the masses. People flocked to him. He organized a new order of Rishis, on the model of the Buddhist Sangha. These Rishis did not eat flesh, nor did they marry. They lived simple, frugal lives and tried to serve the community.
Nunda Ryosh attained mahasamadhi in 1438 A.D.
(Courtesy: J.N.Ganhar in Koshur Samachar, Feb 1999) |
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| Swami Shankar Razdan |
Shankar Razdan was a Siddha Purusha who rose in the middle of the 19th century. He was born in a middle class family in Kania Kadal, Srinagar. Even in childhood, he displayed a remarkable vaakh sidhi. His father, a revenue official, was posted in Kulgam, an area abounding in natural beauty. Shankar spent his early days there and started his tapasya at the shrine of Uma Bhagwati in Uttarsu.
After some time, he wanted to shift his place of contemplation to Khir Bhawani shrine in Manzgam (Kulgam). On the way, the Devi appeared on a rock, applied tilak on his forehead and gave him kheer and other prashad. She also directed him to Swami Zanardhan Dhar of Srinagar. Shankar went to Srinagar and was accepted by Swami Zanardhan Dhar as a disciple.
There were many miracles attributed to Swami Shankar Razdan. Once he was studying at night when the oil lamp started to flicker, as the oil had got finished. Shankar told his fellow students not to worry. As he said this, the lamp started burning brightly.
Shankar used to carry an axe around. Once at Bijbehara, he was asked what was special about the axe. He struck at a huge stone. One axe got embedded in the stone, but Shankar’s axe continued to be in his hand.
On a Shrawan Poornamasi day, Swami Shankar appeared suddenly at Amarnath, where the weather had deteriorated and there was danger of large-scale destruction. The sky cleared at once, but Swamiji had not even for a minute stirred from his hut at Srinagar.
A British mission, under the leadership of Douglas Forsythe, which had been sent to Central Asia via Kashmir, did not return for a long time. The British were annoyed and Maharaja Ranbir Singh was in danger of being deposed. He went personally to Swamiji, who after great persuasion agreed to intervene. The mission returned after a few days. Forsythe reported how they had lost their way and been held by the local chieftains. A Kashmiri had intervened, got them released and guided them to safety. He described Swami Shankar as the intervener and the date was the same on which the Maharaja had approached the saint. Both Maharaja Ranbir Singh and Pratap Singh became ardent devotees of the Swami.
Once the Maharaja sent his officers to take measurements so that a mansion could replace Swamiji’s kutia. Swamiji sent a message that he was happy in his kutia and if the Maharaja was ashamed of visiting him at the kutia, he need not come. The Maharaja came forthwith to beg his pardon.
Swamiji was a celibate and had no family. A woman came to him with a child stricken by smallpox and requested Swamiji to bring the child back to life. Swamiji agreed to do so on the condition that the child was given to him in adoption. The child was revived and adopted by Swamiji as Ramjoo. This boy was given a job by the Maharaja and rose to become the Military Secretary and later Adviser to Maharaja Amar Singh.
Swamiji wrote extensively and left behind many vakyas. He also composed the Ramayana in Kashmiri verse.
He died in his humble kutia at Chattabal, Srinagar. The Maharaja got a samadhi built in his name. It is called Mandir Ratanjot and is open to people of all faiths.
(Courtesy: M.K.Raina in Koshur Samachar, Feb 1999) |
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| Prominent writers on Kashmiri Saints and sages |
- Bhat, Moti Lal 'Shafaq Bharati', D 48, Pamposh Enclave, New Delhi-110048,Tel. 91-647-9403(R)
- Bhatt, Raj Nath, H.No. 434, Sector B-13, Kurukshetra-136118,Tel. 91-1744-20552
- Bhatt, Dr Saligram, S-176, Greater Kailash, New Delhi-110048, Tel. 91-646-3923(R)
- Dhar, Prof. A.N., 504, New Plots, Sarwal Morh, Jammu Tawi-180005, Tel. 542388(R)
- Dhar, Dr. Tarsem Lal, B-1, Pamposh Enclave, New Delhi-110048, Tel. 91-648-4305, 641-6105
- Dhar, Triloki Nath,2/t-1, Kamath Complex, Tonca, Eavan Zalam, Goa-403002
- Draboo, Prof. V.N.c/o Prof A.N.Dhar
- Gurtoo,Neel Kanth, Sarathi House, Flat 201, Plot 834, Shalimar Gardens, Sahihabad Tel. 91-914-611892(R)
- Haleem, S.N.Bhat, I-1,Kashmir Apartments, Pitampura, Delhi-110034,Tel. 91-11 7013870
- Kachroo, Onkar , 402, Links Apartments, Patparganj, Delhi-110093, Tel. 91-11-2726479
- Kaul, Advaitvadini ,125, Madan Lal Block,Asiad village, New Delhi, Tel. 91-11-6493456
- Kaul,A.K., F-13,Bali Nagar, New Delhi, Tel. 91-11-688-5662(O), 510-4751(R)
- Kaul, Shanti Veer
- Kaw, M.K., C-II/103, Moti Bagh, New Delhi-110021, Tel 91-11-4675752(R) e-mail: mkkaw@nic.in
- Kundan T.N.Dhar
- Kokiloo, Makan Lal, F-115, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi, Tel. 91-11-6943307
- Majboor, Arjan Dev, H. No. 207, Ward No. 12, Udhampur-162101, Tel. 91-1992-72063 (R) e-mail: admajboor@rediff.com
- Pandit, B.L., B/L-22, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi-110088, Te. 91-11-7481635(R) e-mail: blpandit@rediffmail.com
- Pandita, S.N., H-128, Sarojini Nagar, New Delhi-110023 , Tel. 91-11-4101548(R)
- Saproo, Chaman Lal, 80, Deluxe Apartments, Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi-110096
- Toshkhani,S.S., D-8/8050, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070, Tel. 91-11-6898997(R)
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